OTTAWA — A woman in Quebec has accused a prominent Canadian cardinal — who is also a top Vatican official and member of Pope Francis’ inner circle — of engaging in sexual misconduct against her when she served as a diocesan intern.
The accusations against the cardinal, Marc Ouellet, are part of a sweeping class-action lawsuit against the Archdiocese of Quebec, in which 101 people say they were victims of sexual abuse by several dozen clerics and lay staff members of the archdiocese. The allegations date to 1940, and the lawsuit says that some of the plaintiffs were minors at the time of the events.
The case is the latest in a string of class-action lawsuits in Quebec that accuse Catholic clerics of sexual abuse, many of which have already been settled, including accusations covered under an 18-million-dollar agreement reached in 2013. » | Ian Austen and Gaia Pianigiani | Wednesday, August 16, 2022
